


snowflakes

by faerietell



Series: the way you look at me [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Prompt Fic, Zutara, Zutara Month 2016, wow just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 20:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9202928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerietell/pseuds/faerietell
Summary: When she wakes up, she knows it, can taste it.Snow.





	

**Author's Note:**

> god i really can't write a summary who wants to do it for me

When she wakes up, she knows it, can taste it.

_Snow_.

The next few minutes are a flurry of movement, squeezing into a clean pair of jeans and buttoning her coat up too fast. In the most northern parts of Canada, at home, it’s almost always snowing. In Pennsylvania, the same has yet to happen until now. She crams her gloves on and skids two doors to the right where her brother is probably still asleep (and hungover). It’s morning in a university, so of course, everyone is still asleep.

But it’s snow, and she’s sure he doesn’t want to miss it. She sticks the key in, jangles the door twice and pushes her way in. Katara isn’t really thinking about anything but snow, but that is before she walks upon Zuko, wearing nothing but a gray pair of sweatpants that hang low on his hips. She doesn’t let her gaze linger on the hard planes of his chest either, instead walking as fast as she can past him, face burning red. Thank _God_ her skin is dark enough for Zuko not to notice the unmistakable heat creeping down her arms.

She raps at the door. “Sokka,” she calls through the bedroom door. “ _Snow_.”

There’s a grunt, and she knocks louder. “I literally hate you,” comes a groan.

“Get up.”

“Fine,” he yells through the door, but she knows he’s as eager for it as she is. It’s a little part of home, the feeling of a snowflake melting on her skin. “Gimme five to take a shower.”

Back in the kitchen, Zuko is still shirtless, but now he’s offering a cup of coffee to her. “Thanks,” she smiles, now in full control of her expression. This crush was becoming very, very inconvenient for her. It’s a harmless little thing, the way her heart picks up at his rare smiles. She knows better. The story of little sister and her older brother’s best friend is an old one and one that never ends well. “Excited for the snow?”

“No,” he says, taking a sip from his coffee and taking a seat next to her. His shoulder brushes hers. His very unclothed shoulder. Bare shoulder. No, Katara, stop. “It’s a mess. It screws with the road. It’s cold and wet.”

She scrunches up her nose. “It’s snow.” Her eyes brighten. “Did you know each snowflake is different?”

“Yeah,” says Zuko, rolling her eyes. “I know the gist. Each has a different pattern – ”

“No, not like that,” says Katara. “Come on, I’ll show you.” This time she does let herself look down, but she purposefully puts on a distasteful expression. “Though a shirt may be a good idea.”

“Don’t like it?” He has an infuriating smirk on.

“It’s nothing impressive,” she lies. She gets up and moves toward the balcony, trusting Zuko would follow her after a moment. He does, returning clad in a typical red sweatshirt, and he opens the door for her. The floor is already thickly dusted with cold snow, and she shivers with delight at the cold on her bare feet.

“So what am I looking at?” Zuko asks.

She holds her hands out to the sky for a few moments, allowing them to be dusted with snow. And before they could melt against the warmth of her hands, she quickly clasps Zuko’s face. He yelps, stumbling back at the sudden cold on his face. “Wh-what?” He sputters.

“See,” her smile is mischievous. “Each is special. I’m sure you won’t forget that.”

“Liar,” he narrows his eyes, but he can’t hide the fond smile on his mouth.

“Grump,” she returns. “I was being serious though,” she adds, closing her eyes and tilting her face up. “Every snowflake, every memory. It’s something new each time. And water’s filled with memories. It’s just amazing.” She likes the thought of it, the memories she makes with flakes dusting her mouth, on the bridge of her nose –

There’s a heat hovering over her mouth. “May I?”

She’s not thinking about snow anymore. “ _Yes_ ,” she says so quickly that she might think it embarrassing if she had time to think at all. She doesn’t though, because his mouth is so, so hot in the cold, and she sinking into him. Her hand clutches at the soft cotton of his sweatshirt, and it may be a cliché, but fuck, she’s melting right into this kiss.

He pulls back. “You _like_ me?”

She crosses her arm. “You… didn’t know?” Her face burns. “Then why did you _kiss me_?”

“I thought it was sweet,” he defends. “I don’t know, a nice moment in the snowflakes. A memory flakes.”

He would have been right. If she hadn’t kissed back like she did, he would have still thought so. “Well, it’s nothing,” she tries to move past him. “I better talk to Sokka. And stuff.”

“Wait,” he says. She does. “I do too. Like you. I just thought it was, well, impossible. You’re always so cool around me.”

“Only because if I wasn’t it’d be really, seriously obvious,” she argues before what he says sinks in. “You do? Really?”

“Yeah,” he says, uncomfortable. “Not that we have to talk about it. We’re not in sixth grade. We can – ”

Katara cuts him off with another kiss, content beneath the falling snow and in Zuko’s arms.

Her brother, a few minutes later, is less so.


End file.
